


Heart's Fire

by Mona (RJ92)



Category: Onward (2020)
Genre: Can be read as any gender or even genderless tbh, D&D, Domestic Fluff, Female Reader, Fluff, Gamemaster Barley, Marriage Proposal, Other, Quests of Yore, male reader - Freeform, unspecified reader - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-14
Updated: 2020-03-14
Packaged: 2021-03-01 00:07:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,403
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23135920
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RJ92/pseuds/Mona
Summary: After a year long campaign and the loss of your in-game companions, your quest has finally come to an end. Barley has something he wants to ask you.
Relationships: Barley Lightfoot/Reader
Comments: 9
Kudos: 176





	Heart's Fire

**Author's Note:**

> Hey. I have no excuse for why I haven't written anything in.... 2ish something years. But hey, I saw Onward twice in theaters and it's the only think I want to think about with the world going to shit right now, so here.
> 
> Some shameless, self-indulgent fluff that was originally going to be smut but I liked this idea more.

"Your quest has come to its end," Barley declares solemnly, settling a small, intricately painted figurine on the Quests of Yore game board. "The Manticore's Tavern looms before you. It's front is cast in its own shadow, formed by the rising golden sun behind it. Your journey has been long and perilous. Your companions lives, lost."

He pauses dramatically to spread his arms outward while his eyes take in the sight in front of him. It's just you and him right now, seated opposite of each other in the dining room of the Lightfoot house. The table is in shambles, covered from edge to edge in campaign papers and hastily scribbled notes. A few pewter soldiers litter the floor around your seats; two more are placed carefully in front of the Manticore's Tavern on the tabletop.

"Lost," You agree, nodding softly. Your eyes linger on a few of the figurines, then glance up at Barley. He's watching you as you looked over the pieces. "But not forgotten. Never forgotten. They fought valiantly and made the ultimate sacrifice to fulfil our duty."

"Indeed so! And their sacrifice has brought you home. You, who poured your very soul into this quest, have returned to where it all started. The fiercesome Manticore had given you an impossible task, yet you stand before her tavern! Victorious! How do you feel?" His voice is powerful enough that you feel it in your bones.

You pause. Your throat feels tight. "I--" He leans forward, resting his hands on the edge of the table.

You clear your throat and put on your best character voice. "It's been a long, tough year. I -- We, our team, started as a mere group of unknown street rats and ended as unforgettable legends." You try to sound confident and only slightly fail towards the end.

The campaign had lasted only six months in real life. Your group had consisted of two other people from Barley's college, and two more from Ian's school, New Mushroomton High. As their school work had increased, their time for gaming hadn't. The weekly sessions had gone from six people down to four, then three, and finally just two. 

It had been bittersweet, but you'd understood. It had made you appreciate the time that Barley had set aside for this even more when it had just been the two of you. Their characters had become NPCs or had been killed off or retired at one point or another during the many sessions until you had come to face the final boss alone. At some point between the first of the group leaving to the last, you and Barley had begun to date.

"And legends never die!" Barley nearly shouts it, thrusting a fist up into the air as if holding aloft a sword. "Your Heart's Fire was strong! Inextinguishable! Is that a word? It is now!"

You laugh, grinning up at him. His wide, toothy grin matches yours and you can't help it -- your face burns and you end up staring up at him, wide eyed. His enthusiasm had been what had drawn you in the first time you'd met him. He'd been in full costume, picking up Ian after school. Ian had been embarrassed but you... you'd fallen hard and fast the minute he'd set eyes on you and called you the 'fairest maiden his eyes had ever lain upon'.

"But," He gets serious now, reaching a hand up towards the front pocket of his denim vest. He digs inside with a finger, then two, before pulling out a familiar figurine and setting it on the table right in front of your own. "Your Heart's Fire isn't the only one that still burns bright. Your final companion slowly makes his way up the hill from beyond the shadows. As the sun crests above the towering roof, he, too, rises and makes his way to you."

Your breath catches in your throat. Barley's figurine has undergone a drastic makeover. It's been painstakingly repainted to reflect the damage the character has taken over the year. Small bits have been removed as well, like a leg from the knee down that's been replaced with a toothpick painted silver. Its also got a painted eyepatch over the left eye and there's some new red streaks of paint crisscrossing over its back.

You open your mouth to say something, but Barley raises a hand, silencing you before you can get more than one syllable out.

"'You've done so well to make it back here on your own,' He says to you, hobbling to a stop just within arms reach. 'I'm so proud of you.'" Barley drops his character voice, which was just a tad deeper than his normal voice, to speak to you as the DM instead of as his character. "Do me a favor and roll for an Insight check."

"An Insight check?? Aren't I supposed to decide when to--"

"Please?"

You press your lips together, glancing from your figurines together on the board then up to him, and back. Then you let out a half amused huff and pick up your 20 sided die to roll it. You're still looking down at the die when you hear Barley speak up again.

"The number doesn't matter, because what you see when you look at him says more than words ever could." You look up at Barley and realize that he's stepped around the table to your side, paying no mind to the game. His attention is focused solely on you. Your throat constricts again when he lowers himself onto a knee beside your seat and reaches out to rest one of his hands over yours on your lap.

"Barley--"

"You see an elf in front of you. He's been by your side through Hell and back and he's here with you despite the odds. He reaches out to take your hand," As he says this, Barley's hand squeezes around your own and brings it up to his mouth. His lips graze across your knuckles before he takes a deep breath and continues.

"He takes your hand and unfurls your fingers. The ring you've kept clutched in your hand for this final leg of the quest glints in the warm light from the morning sun. He gently plucks it from your palm and lowers himself to his good knee in front of you."

"Barley--!"

He shakes his head hard and you feel something round and warm press against your palm. Tears blur your vision now, making it hard to make out his face anymore. You try hard not to let them fall, but they do anyway.

"'We've been together this long,' He says, holding the ring up to you. 'I think we make a great team. Don't you?'" Barley sounds nervous now. You've never heard him sound so serious and so nervous at the same time before.

"I love you," He says, simultaneously in character and not, "What do you say? Marry me?"

"What do I say?" Your voice is steadier than you expected it to be. You inhale and hold it for a few seconds then smile tearfully down at him, at this big silly elf that kept this game running just for you. This elf that made you smile and laugh when all you wanted to do was cry and scream. You smile at Barley, just Barley, and wipe your eyes with your free hand.

"I say, 'I've loved you since before I knew your name. You've seen me at my worst and you've helped me find my best. You are my Heart's Fire.'"

You hold your hand still as Barley slips the silver ring onto your finger, the simple band shining bright under the florescent lights hanging over the table. "I love you, Barley Lightfoot. I will absolutely marry you."

You're swept into a tight embrace, drawn up to your feet as Barley surges forward. Your arms wrap around his broad shoulders in return before you pull your head back to press your lips against his. He's grinning into the kiss and he tastes like the soda and cheese puffs you both snacked on during tonights final session.

You share the kiss for as long as you can before you dissolve into giggles and he sets you down onto your feet. You stand on your toes to nuzzle gently into his neck, his beard scratchy against your cheek as you do.


End file.
